Most states in the U.S. currently permit non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations based on philosophical, personal and religious beliefs. Proponents of non-medical exemptions maintain that disease prevention is an individual responsibility, and that vaccinations are not completely safe or effective. Exemption opponents counter that mandating vaccinations protects the public’s health by decreasing the incidence of preventable disease, hospitalizations and deaths.

This webinar will examine the legal and ethical basis for vaccination requirements, review a recent assessment of how non-medical vaccination exemption laws impact the annual incidence rates of vaccine-targeted diseases, and explore how states are changing their vaccine exemption laws.

Presenters

Andy Baker-White, JD, MPH (Moderator)

Associate Director, Network for Public Health Law – Mid-States Region at the University of Michigan School of Public Health

Daniel G. Orenstein, JD

Deputy Director, Network for Public Health Law – Western Region at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

Ross D. Silverman, JD, MPH

Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI

Y. Tony Yang, ScD, LLM, MPH

Associate Professor of Health Policy and Law at George Mason University